Sabri Medzhitov was born in Uzbekistan, and studied and performed his military service in Russia, but considered Crimea, the land of his ancestors, his homeland.  In 1944 his parents, along with their people, the Crimean Tatars, were deported from the peninsula.  So for Sabri, their return to Crimea in 1992 meant a discovery of his lost homeland. The road home was long and difficult. Ukrainian citizenship legislation had already been in effect for a year, so he could not automatically become a Ukrainian citizen.  He did not have Russian or Uzbek citizenship either, as his registration expired during his military service. So for five long years he and his relatives experienced all of the difficulties facing those who lack citizenship.  For Sabri this meant he could not travel freely, his daughter faced difficulties in receiving an education, and his parents could not receive a pension.

Those who live in rural areas of Crimea know how difficult it is to grow farm products. It is even more difficult to sell these products, especially in villages located far away from district centres or Simferopol. To make both ends meet, people go to highways and trade illegally on roadsides – they sell home-grown fruit and vegetables to passing by Crimeans and tourists. Naturally, such practice often sparks up conflicts between unauthorised traders and the regulatory authorities.
Such was the case with the village of Ermakovo of Dzhankoysky district … until local residents constructed an agricultural market, with the assistance of the UNDP-led Crimea Integration and Development Programme.

Today, there are 2.4 million people with disabilities living in Ukraine. Only every third one of those of the working age has a permanent job. The rest are still being isolated as they used to be, in the times of Soviet system. It’s most hard for them to adapt to market economy conditions and find their place in a professional world. This is why joint Project of UNDP, ILO and State Employment Center - Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities through Access to Employment - has elaborated draft Model of Job Placement and Employment for People with Disabilities in Ukraine and a draft Methodology of Provision of Services to People with Disabilities by State Employment Centres, both allowing to provide them with jobs in the future.

The news about an upcoming visit of youth from Poland and Germany quickly spread among those living in the village of Ignatpil, Zhytomyr region. People immediately started thinking of the ways to welcome the guests. What interesting and at the same time useful project could be implemented by the community before the arrival of guests?At the planning meeting the Head and the officers of the village council, the Youth Center activists and volunteers, and the Director of Social Services; Ms. Kateryna Soina proposed renovating the neglected village park and changing it into a recreational place for young mothers and their children.